The bids for NBA Europe are in, and commissioner Adam Silver’s office is encouraged by both the level of interest and the money attached to the new league.
A Tuesday deadline for non-binding proposals passed at midnight ET, and two sources familiar with the submissions said multiple bidders proposed investments of at least $1 billion. Several others met or exceeded the league’s expected $500 million entry range. The sources said there was “serious” interest from more than 120 prospective investors.
The group of bidders also includes existing European clubs — including teams competing in the EuroLeague — a dynamic that could have major implications for the future of the continent’s top competition, which the NBA is effectively trying to replace.
In a statement provided to The Athletic, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said, “We have received significant interest from a range of prospective teams and investors for permanent franchise spots in a new league in Europe.”
“The level of engagement and the scale of the bids reflect the marketplace’s belief in our proposed model and the enormous, untapped potential for European basketball,” Tatum said. “We will now review the bids in more detail and shortlist the partners who share our vision and commitment to accelerating the growth of the game across the continent.”
As part of the bidding process, potential investors entered into non-disclosure agreements with the NBA, according to two sources. One source said the submissions functioned more as declarations of interest than firm offers, with prospective teams outlining what they would be willing to pay to join the league — a figure that could include projected investments in infrastructure, such as new arenas.
The NBA was said to be seeking a sliding scale of investment, depending on the market, between $500 million and $1 billion for a “license,” or permanent entry into the new European league, and two sources familiar with the bids said several came in meeting or exceeding the $500 million threshold.
A third source said European bidders were questioning the NBA’s proposed business plan — and that weeks of contentious negotiations lie ahead.
The Athletic previously reported that the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, which has a massive sports portfolio and started LIV Golf, would submit a bid for a new London-based team; Qatar Sports Investments, which owns soccer giant Paris Saint-Germain, would submit one for a new team in Paris; and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital, which owns Italian soccer powerhouse AC Milan, would submit a bid for a new team in Milan.
Alba Berlin and ASVEL (near Lyon, France), two existing European clubs that would likely need to add partners to meet the NBA’s asking price, were also previously reported to be preparing bids.
The NBA has long targeted 12 European cities for licensed teams for its new league, and the two sources familiar with the submissions said there was “competition across each of (the) 12 target cities from a variety of investor types,” though not necessarily a bid to put a team in each of the cities. Those targeted cities are London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, Istanbul, Berlin, Munich, Lyon and Manchester.
The bids come in as momentum has quietly built in recent weeks around a potential partnership — or collision — between the NBA and the EuroLeague.
That shift accelerated with the hiring of former NBA executive Chus Bueno as the EuroLeague’s chief executive officer. Bueno spent 12 years with the NBA and is viewed as someone more open to collaboration than his predecessor, who rebuffed prior overtures from Silver.
The NBA’s negotiating team is expected to meet with Bueno later this month, according to sources.
Silver has publicly stated a preference for cooperation.
“I think for the betterment of European basketball, the best outcome would be if we came together with the EuroLeague here and that we came up with a systematic approach to growing the game throughout Europe,” Silver said last week.
But even if the two sides find common ground, the NBA is maintaining control of access to its new league. Multiple sources said the only way for an existing EuroLeague club to be guaranteed entry into NBA Europe would be to pay a license fee — the same as any expansion-style bidder.
That puts pressure on some of Europe’s most established basketball brands, including clubs in Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Istanbul. There are also EuroLeague teams that exist in Paris and Milan that are not tied to the expected PSG and RedBird bids.
The NBA’s plan calls for a 16-team league, with 12 permanent license holders and four additional spots open to teams competing in domestic European leagues. The league is being developed in partnership with FIBA, which governs international basketball, and is being advised by investment bankers from JPMorgan Chase and the Raine Group.
The next phase will be selective.
The NBA and its partners will review the bids and begin narrowing the field to the most serious and well-capitalized groups. All final approvals — including the formal launch of NBA Europe — must come from the NBA’s board of governors, though that is widely expected to be a formality.
The league also plans to roll out its license holders in waves, rather than announcing all 12 at once.
For now, the bids are in, the money is real and the NBA has leverage — over investors, over markets, and, increasingly, over the existing structure of European basketball. Silver’s target remains an October 2027 launch.
What happens between now and then will likely determine not just who gets in, but which version of European basketball survives it.